<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>From the Sea by Anonymous</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23964082">From the Sea</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/'>Anonymous</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - No Powers, First Meetings, M/M, Meet-Cute, MerMay, Mermaid!Tony Stark, Pre-Relationship, Pre-Slash, Science Experiments</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 16:19:56</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,677</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23964082</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <em>There was a flash of red and gold through the water and Cap gasped at the creature that tore through the half-frozen fish. The flash of red and gold was too fast for a true form to emerge as it darted back into the cave.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>  <em>What little Cap saw was a beautiful specimen. If the creature had been human, Cap wasn’t sure he’d stand a chance walking past him in the street, he’d be head over heels in love, boyfriend or no.</em></p><p> </p><p>  <em>“That’s vicious,” the sergeant whistled lowly, looking at the carcasses.</em></p><p> </p><p>  <em>“He was beautiful, Buck,” Cap breathed out.</em></p><p> </p><p>  <em>“Steve,” Buck warned.</em></p><p> </p><p>  <em>“No, seriously, Bucky. He was gorgeous. No wonder sailors would drown for a mermaid,” Steve grinned up at his boyfriend.</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p>A Oneshot based off of an unfinished fic. For MerMay</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers, PRE - James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers/Tony Stark</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>209</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Anonymous</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>From the Sea</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The tank held little else but sea water. There was barely enough space for the thing in the tank to swim. It tried not to show its feelings so obviously on its face. If it did then the land creatures would hurt it more. In its little head, it thinks that it used to be more rebellious, but it can’t really remember.</p><p>“Fascinating. And you say you can breed with it?” a voice past the barrier asks.</p><p>The creature suppresses a shudder and goes back to sorting through the trash that was alongside the food that they dumped in his tank. He needed to eat the food, if he didn’t then the algae would and they would lay on the surface of the water and make everything stale to the point where he would not be able to breathe. The handlers would not clean his tank, they would not help in any way. The creature ignores the observers, curiosity taking over him as he followed the flashing lights towards the back of his tank. No one was supposed to be in the other room.</p><p>Looking through the glass, the Mer looked at the lone person who was doing something to the technology. The Mer frowned then looked over his shoulder. He didn’t understand what was happening, but he knew that he had to let this person finish whatever it was they were doing. Swimming to the edge of the tank, the Mer pulled themselves enough out of the water that they were dripping onto the floor. Folding his arms across the ledge and propping his head up on it, the Mer looked down at his captors.</p><p>“Doctor, is it meant to do that?” the investor asked.</p><p>“It’s probably just curious of a new face,” the doctor stated.</p><p>The Mer bared its teeth in a mockery of a smile before diving to the height of the man and pressing up against the glass.</p><p>“It thinks you are food,” the doctor mused.</p><p>Yeah right, Humans aren’t good for the digestive system of most Mers, let alone me, the Mer thought, trying not to roll his eyes at the comment. The investor was fascinated though when the Mer’s gills on his neck started glowing soft luminescent colours. Sound didn’t travel well from water to air, especially for Humans, but that was okay, the Mer wasn’t trying to Charm them.</p><p> </p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p> </p><p>The sounds past the glass didn’t impress the Mer. Guns and harsh orders. Screams and silent deaths. Humans are so predictable, the Mer thinks to himself. Settling himself in the monitored cove, the Mer simply waited. He was half asleep when the banging started. Covering his ears with his hands, the Mer screwed its eyes tight shut and counted back from 1000 in twelve increments.</p><p>When it stopped, the Mer felt relieved. It hated it when Humans decided tapping on the tank was a good idea. The vibrations from the pane rippled the water in strange ways and it made the Mer feel dizzy, like it had been beached on land and taken in too much oxygen. The agents on the other side of the glass were being scolded by their commander. It was common knowledge to not tap on fish tank glass.</p><p>“We can’t just stay here, and we’re not leaving him here either,” an agent said.</p><p>“You sure it’s a him? Didn’t one of the scientists say it could get pregnant?” another agents stated.</p><p>“Well I’m not calling them an ‘it’. They deserve better than that.”</p><p>“It’s just a dumb animal.”</p><p>“Hey! What are you just standing around there for? We’ve got Hydra agents to detain,” their captain snapped.</p><p>The agents scrambled to get out of there. The captain’s second in command had a look on his face that was just begging them to give him a reason to murder them. The captain knew this and when the agents left, turned to his boyfriend to level him an unimpressed look.</p><p>“What?” the sergeant asked innocently.</p><p>“Romanoff said the creature looked half-starved,” the captain said.</p><p>“Yeah, my bag’s got fish in it, and I hate you for it,” the sergeant says half-heartedly.</p><p>The fresh fish brought just for the Mermaid was placed gently in the tank. The captain watched as it sunk slowly through the water. There seemed to be a ripple in the water off to the left where a large rock formation that peeked out of the water was. There was a flash of red and gold through the water and Cap gasped at the creature that tore through the half-frozen fish. The flash of red and gold was too fast for a true form to emerge as it darted back into the cave.</p><p>What little Cap saw was a beautiful specimen. If the creature had been human, Cap wasn’t sure he’d stand a chance walking past him in the street, he’d be head over heels in love, boyfriend or no.</p><p>“That’s vicious,” the sergeant whistled lowly, looking at the carcasses.</p><p>“He was beautiful, Buck,” Cap breathed out.</p><p>“Steve,” Buck warned.</p><p>“No, seriously, Bucky. He was gorgeous. No wonder sailors would drown for a mermaid,” Steve grinned up at his boyfriend.</p><p>“And no wonder mermaids are said to be killers. The fish are just shredded,” Bucky said, squinting at the slightly murky water. “He needs a better tank, and better water.”</p><p>The Mer listened from within his cave to what the two men were discussing. They wanted to help him, not use him. They wanted to bring him back to the ocean, even though he couldn’t let them. They wanted him healthy before that, so the Mer guessed he wasn’t going to try and make things difficult for them… too much.</p><p>The ripple in the water made the Mer tense as he heard the man, Steve, scream for the other. Rolling his eyes, the Mer darted and was quick to bring Bucky to the surface and shoved him towards the ledge before darting back to his cave. Them dying wouldn’t do.</p><p>The two soldiers were shocked by what happened. Bucky had been saved. So the Mer wasn’t as vicious as Hydra had made it out to be in its logs. At least they knew it would be safer to transfer the creature now.</p><p> </p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p> </p><p>The aquatic being was lured out of its tank and into one for wheels simply because the water was cleaner. It was a lot smaller than the old tank but better than what Hydra had done to transport him the first time. A trill in the back of his throat was made when he gladly moved from one tank to the other and the agents were dazed slightly by the sound. The creature was happy and began scrubbing at its body to get rid of the ick of the other tank.</p><p>The agents were staring at the creature who was unearthly gorgeous. Red and gold scales that translated beautifully to its fins and whatever membrane grew between his fingers, protruding from his shoulder blades, down his forearms, and where the scales of the tail met flesh. Golden brown skin that looked as if the Mer sunbathed all day with splatters of gold down his sides, arms, and even on the edges of his face to match to golden pattern on his tale.</p><p>The white tattoo in the centre of his chest, intricate and almost floral, blooming upwards towards his neck, overlapping a crimson red tattoo that looked like a mix of tribal and floral as well that covered the tops of his shoulder, wrapping around his neck, top of his back and chest, looking like a high collar necklace.</p><p>The Mer’s gills on his neck were obscured by the tattoos, while bringing them to life as they fluttered and made the art look as if they were merely life growing on the Mer. The secondary (or was it primary?) set of gills starting from the middle of his rib cage almost down to where his scales began. The anatomy of Mers meant that they were bony, no matter the type or if they over indulged, and it came out in the sharp features of his face with high cheekbones and a sharp jawline, softened only by a goatee that was braided with a blue gem at the end.</p><p>His hair was a fluffy mess that seemed to hover neatly in place, slicked back and tucked behind what would be assumed to be ears if they didn't look like mini fins as well. His eyes were a solid block of milk chocolate, which was both disconcerting because of their lack of white and a clear iris and beautiful for their colour.</p><p>“What are you standing around for?” Steve snapped. “We don't have all day!”</p><p>“Sorry, sir.”</p><p>“Yes, sir.”</p><p>“Go!”</p><p>Bucky rolled his eyes as the agents went by with the tank on wheels. The Mer was smirking at him and the man just smiled back at the creature with near needle-like teeth. The wink the Mer gave Steve nearly made the man laugh. It seemed like the Mer was smart enough to know human social cues.</p><p>The Mer was given an olympic size swimming pool to roam in, with two of the walls being glass so that scientists could observe the habits of the Mer that zipped around his new environment that had been explicitly ordered by Natasha after she’d seen how bare the Hydra tank was and how the reports showed how the creature respond to more stimuli in his tank.</p><p>The Mer was ecstatic with the more ocean-like scenery. There were tall patches of kelp, a sand bed and while the rock cove didn’t have a cover to keep out intrusive looky-loos there were more shelves at differing heights for the Mer’s entertainment. A place to hide from the scientists was a little ship wreck. The scientists were fascinated that the creature already seemed to know every entrance and exit of the fake ship. Steve couldn’t help the smile on his face as he watched the enthusiastic Mer from the edge of the tank.</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>